Polygon Game for Analyzing, Identifying, and Classifying Polygons

I love games, and I really love to incorporate them into my classroom.  It's tough to make them engaging and really packed with learning potential.  However, I think I have accomplished that with this newest Math Game.

Guess the Polygon PowerPoint Game

This Polygon Guessing Game is a wonderful way to get the entire class involved in math. Students take turns being Clue Givers and Guessers with each new PowerPoint slide. With students participating in two different roles, it requires them to analyze polygons (triangles, quadrilaterals, and more) in different ways. This game can flexibly be used with the whole class, in small groups, in pairs, or as a math center.

The teacher or a student can control the slides by simply clicking through the slide show. It’s very easy to use. Slides 1-9 are teacher slides (printable too), and slides 10-28 are the actual game. If you play often, you can rearrange the game slides so students don’t memorize the order.

Polygons included are:
Acute Triangle, Right Triangle, Obtuse Triangle, Isosceles Triangle, Scalene Triangle, Equilateral Triangle, Parallelogram, Trapezoid, Rectangle, Rhombus, Square, Pentagon, Hexagon, and Octagon.

Here’s what is included:
- Teacher Information with directions, suggestions for use, and more
- Student Directions
- Student Roles Explanation
- Examples for Clue Givers
- Polygon Charts to assist students
- Clue Giving Help Sheet
- One Animated Slide for each included polygon with two example of that polygon and the answer

Here are a few example slides.  Click on any of them to get your own and to see the complete product.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Poetry Unit for Elementary and Middle School

April is National Poetry Month.  I now say that with a huge smile and a tingle of excitement.  If I'm going to be completely honest, and I am, I loathed having anything to do with poetry throughout my own education and teaching it my first few years.  That's because up until the past 6 years or so, the only experiences I had with poetry were:

1. having to memorize and recite Shakespeare in front of an entire class (as a teacher, I still don't see the educational value in that)

2. being forced to write poetry with minimal support or understanding of what I was doing

3. having to decode and analyze poetry

So, why the smile and tingle of excitement now?  Well, a wonderful friend and colleague turned me onto students writing their own poetry in fun and meaningful ways.  At first I was apprehensive because my students didn't want anything to do with poetry either.  They thought it was boring and confusing.  It was my job to prove them otherwise, and I was going to do it by allowing them to be the poets for a change.

It took me a lot of research and tons of time, but what I created I just have to share.  It's a complete unit that takes students through several stages.  First they learn about different poems, then practicing writing poems, and finally turn their poetry into an amazing book that includes an About the Author Page, a Table of Contents page, a Cover page, and much more.  There is even a rubric to keep your students on track and for you to grade student work.  My Poetry Do-It-Yourself Book does the following:

1. Introduces students to 9 different types of popular poetry
2. Provides my original examples of the 9 types of poetry
3. Provides directions for how to write these poems
4. Includes (printable) templates for students to write their own poems
5. Includes all of the materials for students to build their own book with Author, Cover, and Table of Contents Pages


Click here or on any of the images below to get yours.  I posted the product cover and some actual pages from the resource.  I'd love to hear your experience with this.  Happy Poetry Month!

Graduate Level Course for Teachers- Literature Circles for K-12 Classrooms

If you're a teacher who is looking for graduate level courses, MTI may be a great option for you.
Midwest Teachers Institute is national provider of inexpensive and university-accredited K-12 teacher professional development.  It was founded by teachers,who strive to provide exceptional learning opportunities at very reasonable prices.

I'm teaching an online class called Best Practice Reading Strategy: Literature Circles in the K-12 Classroom.  It begins on April 13, and there is still time to sign up.  Everything is run and turned in online, so you have the flexibility to work from home within a schedule that works for you.

Click to view the syllabus for this class-MTI 516or to view the MTI lineup of online classes.